Some of you know me as Mike Doberenz CO ‘97, some as Fuwjax, some as that guy from Lechner. Most of you though are probably hearing about me for the first time as that guy who scared all his family and friends by kicking down death’s door with a shit-eating grin. But I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the overwhelming support and prayers I’ve received from the Aggie community, and to share something small in return.
A week ago, a fellow Aggie, great friend and all around good guy Mike Deck CO ‘05 climbed the fence at my gated community to break in and save my life. There were Aggies in both EMT crews that assisted me. There were doctors, nurses, and all manner of hospital staff who greeted me with a “Howdy” right up till the moment they told me I needed to take it off or they’d have to cut it off. I tell you, taking off my ring was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my time in this hospital.
That ring is back on my finger today.
I’m proud to be an Aggie for the same reasons I’m proud to be a Texan and an American. It’s not because of our sports, or our politics or any of the stuff people say we are supposed to care about.
America is full of runaways, traitors, rebels, criminals, slaves, aliens, and illegals. We are the worst of the worst, the rejects and the outcasts. And we built this land up, with sweat and blood and tears, into the greatest country in the universe.
Then you take all the outlaws and the rustlers and the criminals; the barons, slaves, aliens and illegals; and pack them into one of the harshest landscapes in the country. We are the worst of the worst, the rejects and the outcasts. And we built this land up, with sweat and blood and tears, into the greatest state in the universe.
Then you take the boys from that state too dumb, too slow or too poor to go to a real man’s college and dump them off a railroad stop in the middle of nowhere. We are the worst of the worst, the rejects and the outcasts. And we built this college up, with sweat and blood and tears, into the greatest university in the universe.
I am proud to be an Aggie, a Texan, and an American because it is my God-given birthright to be a worthless son-of-a-bitch, and He expects nothing less than my blood, sweat, and tears to be the greatest man in the universe.
That probably sounds pretty arrogant, but I’m not saying “better than everyone else”; frankly I don’t give a damn about comparing myself to anyone else. I’m saying it is my divine calling as an American, Texan, and Aggie to be far better than I have any earthly right to be given my aforementioned worthlessness. Everyone else expects me to fail on their terms, but I’m not even playing their game. I walk on the field as an Aggie, and at the end of the day I’m going to walk off the field as an Aggie or die trying.
Now I’m not out of the proverbial woods yet, Ags. But I’ve got a sharp ax, a back built to fuck (logs, you dirty bastards) and a burning desire to clear cut this bitch with every Aggie, Texan, and American I can muster along the way. These woods don’t stand a chance in Hell, and the next woods don’t either. There isn’t a force this side of heaven than can withstand a pissed off Aggie.
Because this is what it means to be an Aggie: honor the ones who came before, serve the ones who follow. That Rough Tough Real Stuff ain’t bullshit; you live it, you bleed it and if you wake up tomorrow, you do it again. You leave people better than you found them.
We are the worst of the worst, the rejects and the outcasts. And we built this spirit up with sweat and blood and tears. Death, foreign threats, and our own ineptitude cannot and will not overcome as long as one of us can stand up, not to fight, but to shout “Here”. That maroon blood didn’t come cheap but God help you if you don’t make it rain down in buckets when your time comes.
I am alive today because countless Americans, Texans, and Aggies over the past week have turned the fucking heavens and earth maroon. God loves that shit. I’m proud, damn proud, to have been witness, and deeply humbled, awed, and grateful to have been the recipient.
Michael “Fuwjax” Doberenz CO ‘97, Here
Posted with : Bare with Me, Sanguine Maroon